Phillipsburg PAL serves up invitation to fund-raiser

Dinner seeks to recoup loss of $3,500 worth of stolen equipment.

March 23, 2003|By Angel R. Ackerman Special to The Morning Call - Freelance

Penne pasta and meat sauce normally may not attract droves of people, but Holly Reamer of Ryan's Parkside Restaurant hopes it will.

Ryan's Parkside will hold a fund-raising dinner 4-7 p.m. Tuesday for Phillipsburg's Police Athletic League to replace supplies lost in a burglary in December. Tickets, available at the restaurant, cost $8 for adults and $4 for children.

Thieves stole $3,500 in equipment, said Martin DePano, PAL president.

Many groups have offered their support to help PAL rebuild its lost inventory: Steel Hill, another Phillipsburg recreation group; the memorial fund for Robert Lurig, a Phillipsburg high school athlete killed by a drunken driver; local chemical company Mallinckrodt-Baker; and parents and coaches from nearby Greenwich Township.

PAL serves about 200 children with football, cheerleading, basketball, softball and baseball programs. The baseball program starts April 1.

Spring will bring doubled efforts as the group tries to raise money for lost equipment and to sustain its programs.

The burglars "didn't hurt me," DePano said. "They hurt the kids."

The dinner at Ryan's will be served by celebrity waiters, including Phillipsburg Mayor Harry Wyant and Councilman Jim Shelly. Take-out will be available.

Photographs with the Easter Bunny and door prizes will round out the evening.

"Everything I do, I do for the kids," Reamer said, adding that it's not fair to the children that someone would steal their equipment.

Reamer said she hopes the event will raise a couple of thousand dollars and show children that the community cares about them.

"The community supports us all year long," Reamer said. "We like to do what we can to support the community."

Reamer has received donations from her suppliers to cover most of the food for the dinner. PAL parents will provide baked goods for dessert.

Since the burglary, PAL has petitioned the town to move its main office from Delaware Park, in the downtown, to Delaware Heights Park, a park that won't be ready for years. The Delaware Heights project will go out to bid when Phillipsburg Town Council approves the capital budget for 2003, which could happen as early as April 1.

The Delaware Heights project will be paid for with Green Acres grants and loans totaling $500,000. That amount would cover the basic playing fields at the complex. Council may apply for more Green Acres money to pay for a concession stand, restrooms and other amenities.